14 Additives and types and classification of additives

Additives

1. Additives Additives may be defined as ‘a substance or mixture of substances other than the basic food stuff, present in the food for any aspect of production, processing, storage or packaging’. Additives are used to maintain or even improve the quality of food. At the beginning of this century, there were not more that 50 additives , but at present there are about 4000 items which are being currently used by food industries.

2. Additives The list includes antioxidants, mould inhibitors, bactericides, emulsifiers, stabilizers , sweeteners, colours , flavours , enzymes, preservatives and micro-nutrients.

3. Additives Food additives are used for the following purposes: To increase the shelf life of the food. To improve the nutritive value of the food. To enhance its appeal to the consumer.

4. Additives: Agencies Prevention of Food Adulteration Act (PFA), Fruit Products Order (FPO) and Meat Food Products Order give the permitted list of Additives to be added in the foods, the quantities and the foods in which they are allowed to be added. The Indian Standards Institution (ISI) now known as Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS) gives the specifications for purity of these additives.

5. Types of Additives Additives may be Intentional or Incidental additives .

6. Intentional Additives They perform specific functions namely Improve the nutritive value of food e.g. Iodine is added to salt to prevent iodine deficiency and goiter. 2) Improve the sensory appeal . e.g. colours , flavours and gelling agents, etc. are added to improve the colour , flavour , texture, volume, etc. Salt and sweeteners enhance the taste. 3) To facilitate processing by adding emulsifiers, thickeners, stabilizers, buffers and antifoaming agents. Antifoaming agents are added to beer during its fermentation. Some common intentional additives include Tartaric acid, Sodium Bicarbonate, Annatto ( Colour ), Lecithin, Saccharin, Ascorbic acid, Sulfur dioxide, Benzoic acid, etc.

7. Incidental Additives ‘ They are present in small amounts in the final product after they have performed their function’. They are 1) Pesticides and insecticides : These are carried over from the crop after harvesting or from stored products. There is more chance of a residue on fresh food than a processed one. This class includes herbicides, fungicides, weedicides , etc. 2) Antibiotics and growth regulators : These are used to regulate the growth of animals and plants. They include hormones, sprouting inhibitors, etc.